At The Speed of Love
by Misery Doll
Summary: When Miroku sucks himself into his windtunnel, Sango realizes she may not get him back. When the group gets the jewel, she wants a wish. SanxMir InuxKag
1. Animate

Seiko Maruhana

The Speed of Love

8

**Part I: Animate**

**1.**

_Polarize me_

_Sensitize me_

_Criticize me_

_Civilize me_

_Compensate me_

_Animate me_

_Complicate me_

_Elevate me_

_- Rush, "Animate", stanzas 1-2_

Miroku awoke with a sharp pain coursing down his right arm. It stabbed him in short jabs, subsided then stabbed again. He held his arm in his left hand, staring at it and sweating, wincing in pain at each of the jabs. Once again, the pain jabbed his arm, and he cried out, but quickly stifled himself. He looked over at the taiji-ya snoozing lightly next to him, and the fire kitty, Kirara, who was wide awake. He looked across the hut to see Shippou snoring in Inu Yasha's lap, and Kagome laying on the floor near to him. Inu Yasha was sitting up, his eyes closed, even though he was supposed to be keeping an eye out for evil youkai. _It figures, _Miroku thought. _Asleep on the job._ He didn't mean it though. They had all had a rough day and deserved sleep. Except Miroku. He bit his lip to silence the cry that had made its way through his vocal cords as pain stabbed him again. He shuffled to his feet, wearing nothing but his underrobes. Quickly, he made his way to the paper shoji and opened it quietly.

"Where do you think you're going, bouzu? " Inu Yasha asked, opening one eye and glancing up at Miroku.

Miroku smiled, recognizing the familiar insult. "Houshi," He corrected. Then, he looked out the door. "I'm just going to get some fresh air is all."

Inu Yasha looked inquisitively at the monk. Either he saw the sweat on the monk's face or he sensed the anxious tone in his voice, because he said, "Be careful, bouzu," before returning to the peace of closing his eyes and dozing.

Miroku smiled a sadness laced smile. "Poor inu-hanyou…" he murmured. "He hasn't got a clue." With that, he stepped from the hut and continued forward to a hill that overlooked a small village nearby.

Sango awoke, startled. She felt around for the houshi's warm body near her own, but found only his priestly robes, still heated from enveloping a warm body just moments before. "Houshi-sama?" she whispered, laying a hand on her Hiraikotsu. "Are you here?" She looked around for any sign of the Houshi. Of course, though, he was nowhere to be seen.

Sango rose to her feet, raising her Hiraikotsu. "Houshi-sama?" she called out again, more loudly this time. Inu Yasha opened his eyes. "The bouzu went out," he said, closing his eyes again.

"Oh," Sango said. _Taiji-ya no baka,_ she thought. _Thinking he had been possessed. It would take a lot to possess Houshi-sama. I didn't sense that kind of power._

She walked trough the shoji quietly, to go after him. Before she reaced the hill he was sitting upon, though, she began to feel and ominous presence. All at once, a scream broke out. A manly scream…

"Houshi-sama!" She muttered to herself, running after him.

When she reached him, however, she saw him lying on the ground, unconscious, his Kanzanna unbound and sucking in every thing in its way. She ran to his side, shielding herself from the strong wind. Quickly, she wrapped the round prayer beads around his wrist and re-covered the black hole in his hand. "Houshi-sama, please don't, please don't leave me…………. Don't die………………" Even as she spoke though, she felt warm blood coursing across Miroku's chest, staining her white and pink yukata a deep wine red.

"Houshi- sama…."

**2.**

"_Goddess in my garden_

_Sister in my soul_

_Angel in my armor_

_Actress in my role_

_Daughter of a demon-lover_

_Empress of the hidden face_

_Priestess of the pagan mother_

_Ancient queen of inner space…"_

_-Rush, "Animate" stanzas 3-4_

"Sango…" Miroku coughed, spitting up blood. "Y-you came for me….."

"Of course! How could I not come? Should have just left you here to die?"

"Does it matter?"

"Don't talk like that, Miroku…… you know I don't like it." She turned him on his back and inspected the wound. "Tell me slowly what happened."

Miroku told her everything, about how he had felt the pain in his Kanzanna, how he left the Inu-ikkou to be far from them when it sucked him in, how the Youkai had come at the last minute and cut the three Shikon no Kakera from his shoulder. All this he told in surprising calmness as Sango repaired the three claw marks slashed across his chest and right shoulder. "I'm… not going to live, Sango. I…… I was not meant to continue further with you. I've lost too much blood to go anywhere. Leave me here… free your brother from Naraku… break my curse. Sango…" He took her hand in his and held it tightly. "I… I love you…" With these words, he lost consciousness again.

"Oh, Houshi-sama…" Sango whispered, laying her head n his chest and letting her tears fall on his torn, bloodstained underrobe. "Houshi-sama… I love you too…"

Miroku awoke in a dark place. As he sat up, he felt a jabbing pain in his right shoulder and upper right chest. He looked down at himself. Although there were no marks, he felt like he had recently been clawed. What had happened? He touched his right wrist… wait. Was that… skin? Disbelieving, he looked at his hand. Sure enough, the gauntlet was gone along with the prayer beads. The black hole also sealed itself back up. What the…? Was he dreaming? He pinched himself. Nope, definitely not dreaming.

"How… what… where am I?" He asked the darkness. To his surprise, the darkness answered.

"This is your worst nightmare," it said.

Miroku looked up, confused. How could the disappearance of his curse be part of a nightmare? "What do you mean?" he asked, laughing a little.

"Think about it. I have control of you. I have plans for the deaths of all your friends. Imagine," continued a voice as a figure of a man stepped out of the shadows.

"Who the heck are you?" Miroku demanded, rising to his feet and absently laying his left hand on his right wrist, ready to open the Kanzanna- if he had had one.

"I?" replied the figure, further stepping into Miroku's imagined light. He had long, brown hair, and was wearing a painted-on kabuki mask of sorrow. "I am Gensai. I may be only half demon, but I am still powerful enough to take over weak houshi like you. Interesting, isn't it?" Tsume replied. "Care to know what I have planned for your friends?"

"I'm sure that you have something quite, shall we say, colorful in mind," Miroku spat. Suddenly he was flung onto the ground.

"First this," Gensai said, leaning down over the houshi's immobile body. "The inu-hanyou will be the first to go. I'm going to suck him into the wonderful black hole you have in your hand. Next will be the strange Miko traveling with you. She will be simple to take. I will use the inu-hanyou's magnificent sword. I shall simply slice her into small cubes. Then the two small demons, I think I shall exorcise them with these wonderful ofuda that you keep in your robe." The hanyou reached into Miroku's hidden robe pocket and pulled out a few of the paper exorcising scrolls. "Now, do you know what I have planned for that precious taiji-ya you care so much about?"

Miroku spat in the hanyou's face. "Nothing I've never tried, I'm sure." he replied, gritting his teeth and straining against the half-demon's iron mind-grip.

"It's useless, houshi no teme," Gensai said, laughing at the monk's pathetic attempts to escape. "And I'm sure you've never done what I have planned. I am going to make her scream. I will rape her and then I will break her, and then I will leave her to die in the wilderness. And you are going to have a front-row seat." Tsume projected an image into the darkness.

Sango laid against Miroku (or rather, Miroku's possessed body) and sobbed into his chest, which was covered in blood. "Y-you bastard…" Miroku said, once again straining at his invisible bindings.

The creature laughed evilly.

**3.**

"_Spirit in my psyche_

_Double in my role_

_Alter in my image_

_Struggle for control_

_Mistress of the dark unconscious_

_Mermaid of the lunar sea_

_Daughter of the great enchantress_

_Sister to the boy inside of me"_

_- Rush, "Animate," stanzas 5-6_

Sango lifted Miroku over her shoulders cautiously and carried him carefully back to the hut. "Don't worry, Houshi-sama," she whispered to him. We'll get you bandaged up and on your feet soon as possible."

Miroku coughed in reply.

_Hang in there, Houshi-sama. We'll have you healed in no time._

_They reached the hut as the sun was coming up at last. "Inu Yasha!" Sango called. "Get Kagome! Miroku's injured!"_

Within moments, the girl was outside with her white box filled with medicinal herbs and sat beside Miroku, who was lying unconscious, still bleeding profusely. He coughed blood again. Sango, worried, wet a cloth with water from a bamboo tube and wrung it out, placing the cool, damp fabric on the houshi's head. Slowly, the houshi opened his eyes. "Sango…sama…" He said hoarsely. "Get…away… All of you… get back…" Suddenly, his eyes glazed over and began to glow bright red. "Get… away," he repeated, standing jerkily, as if he was not in control.

Sango and the others stepped back. "Houshi-sama… what's wrong with you?"

"I… am… not in control… of my body…." his voice sounded strained as he replied. "You must slay me… Sango-sama…"

"I… I can't do that, you know I can't…."

"You must… try, dear Sango." As he said it, he drew an ofuda from his robes and threw it toward Inu Yasha. "NOW!"

Sango pulled her Hiraikotsu, but the big weapon made her move slightly slower. She was too late. The houshi had already began sucking things into his Kanzanna. Inu Yasha jumped away in the nick of time, but his precious Tetsusaiga did not fare as well. It was sucked into the Kanzanna, and, as it entered, its sharp blade grazed the corners of the Kanzanna, opening it wider.

"Houshi-sama!"

4.

"_My counterpart- my foolish heart_

_A man must learn to rule his tender part_

_A warming trend- a gentle friend_

_A man must build a fortress to defend_

_A secret face- a touch of grace_

_A man must learn to give a little space_

_A peaceful state- a submissive trait_

_A man must learn gently to dominate"_

_-Rush, "Animate" stanzas 7-8_

Miroku laid, helpless, a prisoner of his own mind. He bore all the pain he saw and felt with no expression, watching the hanyou spirit standing near him, searching for a weakness… until the Tetsusaiga entered the Kanzanna. Feeling burning pain in his right hand, Miroku cried out.

The spirit looked back at him, annoyed, and, sensing that death was near for the Houshi, promptly left his body. Miroku blacked out from the pain and fell back into the real world…

He screamed, quickly closing the Kanzanna, sealing it, and falling to the ground on all fours. He vomited, and sweating, fell completely onto the floor.

"Houshi-sama!" Sango exclaimed, running to the houshi's side.

Miroku, partially better, sat up, an ofuda ready in his hands. "Where is he? Where is Gensai!"

"What in the world are you talking about?" Kagome asked. "Who's Gensai?"

Miroku looked around. Kagome, Sango, Shippou, Kirara… "Inu Yasha," He whispered.

"What about him? He's right over-" she looked up. "Hm, that's strange. He was here a moment ago."

"Kagome, you must go after him. Use a purifying arrow. Take Shippou and the others with you as well. Inu Yasha has been possessed…" Miroku leaned forward and vomited again, only this time it was blood. He laid back down. Kagome nodded in affirmation and ran off, Shippou and Kirara trailed behind. "You go too, Sango," He said, looking up at the Taiji-ya. Tears filled her eyes and fell down her cheeks. "Sango, I'm going to be honest with you. It is likely that I will not survive. You must go help Kagome stop Inu Yasha from falling to this same fate. Please. As a last wish… please."

"Houshi-sama… don't talk like that. It'll be all right. We'll get back in time and Kagome will use her medicine to heal you and…" her sentence was broken with sobs. "Oh, houshi-sama…"

The houshi smiled. "What do I have to do to get you to call me by my proper name?" He coughed blood again, and went back to a pained look. "Go help Kagome."

Looking at him with tears in her eyes, she nodded and followed the path Kagome took. At last in peace, Miroku closed his eyes and laid his cursèd hand over his chest, murmuring his final rights and preparing himself for his own death.

**Authors note: This is the third SanMir fic I've written so far (If you include Fall Away). I guess I should explain whats with the same song titles and stuff. This is virtually a songfic based off the Rush album Counterparts (it's a good album, you should get it!). I'm hoping to get lots of reviews for this. I know that these chapters were hastily written, but I can't wait to get to the end where… wait, better not give that away! Oops. The point of the different types of stanza-tation is this: somehow, two stanzas go together to tell a part of a story, sometimes they don't. This is when I only use one stanza, but that shouldn't happen until at least part 3. To warn you, this fanfic will consist of a total of 9 parts, plus an epilogue. The most chapters one part has is 7 in Part 3: Cut to the Chase and Part 7: Double Agent. Also, my evil spirit, Gensai, is actually a real Japanese person. For those of you who know RuroKen, you know that he is the basis for the character of Kenshin. A famous hitokiri, he was difficult to catch, short, and looked like a woman at first glance. Thus, my version came out to look slightly different from the original Gensai. Oh, well. Also, I credit my "Miroku dying and getting possessed by an evil thing" idea to Scribe of Figaro, who wrote "If You Need Her." (It's such a good fic, you should read it!) Well, that's about it for now, other than the little skit that I will be incorporating into all parts of this fic. It's something one of my friends inspired.**

Skit part #1

Me: Sitting at the comp, typing and listening to Rush

Inu Yasha: walks in Whatcha doin'?

Me: aggravated Didn't I tell you guys to stay out of the computer room while I'm typing!

Inu Yasha: reading fic "Inu Yasha looked inquisitively at the monk. Either he saw the sweat on

the monk's face or he sensed the anxious tone in his voice, because he said, 'Be careful, bouzu,' before returning to the peace of closing his eyes and dozing." I am nothing like that!

Me: Maybe not, but do you have to make such a big deal out of it? It's my fic, after all!

Inu Yasha: Yeah you're right. Wait until Miroku and Sango see it! runs off to get them

Me: sigh No…. at this rate, I won't even be able to finish part 1…. Well, ja ne, reader, until next time.

Miroku's voice: In the distance What? A fanfic about me and Sango! I have to see this!

End


	2. Stick it Out

**Part II: Stick it Out**

1.

"_Trust to your instinct_

_If it's safely restrained_

_Lightning reactions _

_Must be carefully trained_

_Heat of the moment_

_Curse of the young_

_Spit out your anger_

_Don't swallow your tongue"_

_-Rush, "Stick it Out" stanzas 1-2_

Sango swallowed. She readied her Hiraikotsu to throw at the hanyou. "For Houshi-sama," she muttered before throwing it into the air at the inu-hanyou, possessed by this Gensai. Who was he anyway? Why had Houshi-sama asked about him when he returned to himself? All this Sango wondered, nearly missing her Hiraikotsu as it flew back toward her.

"Sango, be careful!" the small kitsune demon called to her. It had begun to rain.

Sango nodded, looking at her boomerang, sliced deeply by the hanyou. His glowing eyes were on her now. She stood stiffly. Now that her Hiraikotsu was ruined, she had only two weapons: a wakasashi at her side and a small dagger embedded in the cloth encircling her arm. _Come at me, _she dared the inu-hanyou in her mind. _Come on. I'm not afraid of you._

As if hearing her dare, the inu-hanyou charged her and sliced at her stomach. She dodged him, but only barely. Not knowing why, she suddenly yelled out, "Get out of Inu Yasha, Gensai!"

She fell onto her back as the hanyou soared over her again, but this time, with his golden-yellow eyes rather than glowing red. He fell about ten feet from where she lay. Hurriedly, she staggered to her feet- she must have twisted her ankle when she fell- and rushed to his side, along with Kagome, Shippou, and Kirara.

"What happened?" He asked, sitting up and holding his head. "I remember Miroku falling to the ground, but I don't remember anything after that… Where is that bouzu, anyways?" He looked up at Sango.

Sango looked into the distance. _Miroku is dying_, she thought, _and I'm not even around to help him. _She looked back at Inu Yasha. "He said he'd catch up and to keep moving. C'mon," she said, helping the hanyou to his feet.

"What's that glow?" Kagome stated suddenly.

"Where?" asked everyone.

"There…" Kagome pointed about 15 feet in front of them.

Sango went over and looked at the ground where Kagome was pointing. Three jewel shards lay on the ground at her feet. Cautiously, she picked them up one at a time. "Houshi-sama's Shikon no Kakera…" Sango murmured. Without saying anything to the group, she pocketed two of them. Exchanging a "please" glance with Kagome, she brought over the remaining jewel shard. "A shard," she said, placing it in Kagome's outstretched hand. "One of Houshi-sama's, because it's been purified. Where the other two are, I'm not sure."

"Now what?" Kagome asked, pocketing the shard.

"Simple. We get the bouzu and finish hunting down the rest of his shards for me," Inu Yasha replied.

"Inu Yasha, sit boy!" Kagome said, matter-of-factly.

"Ow…" Inu Yasha said, raising himself up from his three foot deep hole. "What'd you go and do that for!" he demanded.

"Miroku is not a bouzu. He's a Houshi. A houshi no sukebe, no doubt, but still a houshi."

"Whatever," Inu Yasha said, starting off. "Let's just go get the monk."

Wait, Sango wanted to say. He's dead. We can't go back. It would be a mistake. They couldn't.

"C'mon Sango!" Shippou's voice jerked the daydreaming taiji-ya back to her senses. She sighed, looking up at the sky.

"Gomen, Houshi-sama. Gomen."

2.

"_Stick it out_

_Don't swallow the poison_

_Spit it out_

_Don't swallow your pride_

_Stick it out_

_Don't swallow your anger_

_Spit it out_

_Don't swallow the lies"_

_- Rush, "Stick it Out", stanzas 3-4_

Sango closed her eyes as she ran after the group. She remembered all the times she and Miroku had spent together. There were indeed those times when the houshi was a total sukebe at times, but, ultimately, he was a good monk. He had his moments where he was absolutetly charming and lowered her defenses to the point where she was finally willing to get close to him, and then he would grope... _Wait a moment,_ she thought, her eyes widening with realization. _I get it! He's the same way that I used to be. I didn't want to let anyone get close to me because I was afraid that they'd... die..._

_**Miroku was in the village, reading palms. A woman in front of him was giggling uncontrollably and he was smiling and saying something to her. She giggled again, blushed, and her eyes sparkled. "Oh, you're such a joker!" the girl said, dismissing whatever he had said with a wave of her hand.**_

_**"It's true," said Miroku, smiling as well. "As a matter of fact, I would be glad to father those children you give birth to."**_

_**The woman blushed even more.**_

_**Sango, watching from behind a fence, glared at him. Who did he think he was?**_

_**Shippou looked at her. "Jealous?" He asked.**_

_**It was Sango's turn to blush now. "Nothing of the sort!" she said, although she knew deep inside she was lying to herself. It was difficult to see the man she loved flirting with someone else. "Such a lecher..."**_

_That's it!_ she concluded. _He does it... so I won't get close to him. He cares about me... like he loves me too much to lose me. _Glad that she had finally gotten closure for herself, she continued with the group until she caught sightof Miroku. "Houshi-sama!"

Miroku breathed heavily, and the world around him blurred as his vision worsened. He had lost too much blood. _I'm going to die, _he thought angrily, closig his eyes and letting rain fall on his eylids and the rest of his already-soaked body. His robes clung to his body. He leant over and coughed again. _God damn it, I'm going to die... and Sango will never know love... nor shall I._

He looked around. Nothing but a lot of rain, and mud. He coughed, and vomited blood. Then, he looked at his hand. _Oh, why the Hell not? I'm going to die anyway._ As carefully as he could, so as not to have to endure any pain, he snapped the string of prayer beads encircling his wrist and immeadiately felt the pull of his Kanzanna. _Be quick,_ he murmured, placing his hand in front of his face, and feeling the pull of the black hole in his hand for the first time himself. Suddenly he thought he heard Sango calling to him.

"Houshi-sama! Stop!"

_I'm dreaming, _he thought. He opened the Kanzanna wider as he sucked his Shakujou into it. He winced in pain as the sharp points grazed the sides.

"Houshi-sama!" Sango's voice called.

Finally he looked, but too late. As he realized Sango and the others coming near him, he was sucked into the Kanzanna. Before he dissapeared, he head one last agonized scream:

"MIROKU!"

**3.**

_"Natural reflex_

_Pendulum swing_

_You might be too dizzy_

_To do the the right thing_

_Trial under fire_

_Ultimate proof_

_Moment of crisis_

_Don't swallow the truth"_

_- Rush, "Stick it Out" stanzas 5-6_

"MIROKU!" Sango screamed, falling to her knees. "No..." she felt the tears fall across her face. She was dizzy now, and unable to keep her balance. She fell to the ground, sobbing. "NO!" she screamed to the sky. "No..."

Kirara came up next to her and rubbed against her owner's cheek. "Mew," she purred.

"Oh, Sango..." Kagome murmured, putting a hand over her mouth. "I'm so sorry..."

Inuyasha took a hold of her elbow. "C'mon," he said to her. "Let's leave her be." Thus, Inu Yasha, Kagome, and Shippou, albiet hesitantly, turned and left her alone and went into Kaede's hut.

Sango remained outside, sobbing, adding her tears into the already wet ground. _Why, Houshi-sama? Why did you want to die that way? We could have saved you! Why?_

**_Sango,_** a deep voice resonated through her mind.

_Houshi-sama? No, it can't be you. I'm dreaming!_

_**Sango, listen to me. I am only dead physically. I will always be here for you.**_

_But, it won't be the same, Houshi-sama, it won't..._

_**Hush now. It'll be all right. Close your eyes, Sango.**_

_What?_

_**Close your eyes. Trust me.**_

Hesitantly, Sango closed her eyes. Blackness swarmed around her, and she curled up in Houshi-sama's soaked robes, the only thing remaining of him. He appeared before her in her mind.

**_Sango. _**He held out his hand to the imaginary person in her mind that was her.

**_Houshi-sama! _**She ran to him, burying herself in his arms.

**_Oh, Sango. _**He stroked her hair, and held her close. **_Sango, I…_**

_**Don't apologize. Don't. It's not your fault.**_

_**Sango…**_

_**I know you can't stay long, Houshi-sama, but please, humor me and hold me until the very last second before you have to go.**_

_**Sango…**_

_**Don't speak. Just hold me.**_

…_**I love you.**_

**4.**

_"Each time we bathe our reactions_

_In artificial light_

_Each time we alter the focus_

_To make the wrong move seem right_

_You get so used to deception_

_You make yourself a nervous wreck_

_You get so used to surrender_

_Running back to cover your neck_

_Stick it out"_

_-Rush, "Stick it Out" stanzas 8-10_

Inu Yasha sat in the hut next to Kagome, who laid against his shoulder. "Hey," he said, as she opened her eyes.

"Hm?" she asked, nestling against him.

"You think Sango will deal all right?" he asked.

"Of course. She's a strong girl," Kagome replied. "She knows what to do. I mean, she lost her entire family to Naraku's trickery. She's dealing all right with that."

"If I lost you, I wouldn't..." Realizing what he was about to say, Inu Yasha quickly stifled himself.

"You wouldn't what?" Kagome inquired.

"Nothin'," he lied, blushing.

"I know, Inu Yasha," Kagome said, falling asleep against his chest as rain spattered outside.

Inu Yasha blushed.

Miroku having left her mind, Sango gathered up his soaked robes and began returning to Kaede's hut, when she felt a poking in her side. She reached down, and pulled out Miroku's jewel shards. "Houshi-sama, I miss you already," she murmured and entered the hut.

Inu Yasha looked at her as she entered. Blushing and looking down, he said, "You're soaking wet."

Sango, however, seemed not to hear. She went straight off to her room. Kaede heard muffled cries.

"Where is Miroku?" she asked Inu Yasha.

"He's dead," Inu Yasha replied.

"How is that?"

"He was badly wounded. I don't think he thought he would have lived, because he sucked himself into his Kanzanna."

"Ye all have had a very trying day. I'm very pround of ye since ye have pulled through this without much trouble."

"Yeah, I know. It's Sango Kagome's worried about."

"Are ye saying you are not worried at all, Inu Yasha?"

"Absolutely not."

Kaede nodded. "Ye all should rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

**Author's notes: **OMG, I can't beleive I actually wrote that! I killed off my all-time favorite character... Don't worry, he'll probably be back, without a doubt. I really like these chapters because it shows the strong friendship between all the members of the group, esp. between Sango and Miroku. It also gives away why I he think he gropes women so much... okay. I think the song "Stick it Out" fits well with this chapter because it foreshadows what's going to happen. Sadly, I won't be able to post next until at least the end of May, so until then, I'll have to longhand it all before I can type it an post it! Oh, well. Heres some more of my skit:

Miroku: (reads all) Well then.

Inu Yasha: So he just croaks?

Me: Basically. Now will you please go away?

Sango: I want to read some more of this.

Me: GAAAAAH! Go AWAY!

Shippou: (walks in) Hey, what's going on in here? Why am I left out of everything?

Me: OUT! ALL OF YOU, OUT! (kicks them all out & slams door)

Kagome: (walks by with 6 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and two halves of a tuna sandwich) Hey guys, what's going on?

Me: Ps off! We're closed!


	3. Cut to the Chase: Part 1

**Part III: Cut to the Chase (1)**

**1.**

_It is the fire that lights itself_

_But it burns with a restless flame_

_The arrow on a moving target_

_The archer must be sure of his aim…_

_-Rush, "Cut to the Chase", stanza 1_

Sango lay quietly against Miroku's robes. _Houshi-sama…_she thought to herself. _Why did you leave me? I still need you! _In the silence of her room, she let herself cry until she was so weak that she drifted off to sleep.

Sango awoke later to the still darkness of the night. Slowly she rose up out of her futon. Her clothes were still damp, and she shivered in the cool air. Clutching her arms close to her chest, she moved outside onto the small porch.

"What's wrong?" came a small voice from behind her. Startled, Sango whirled around to face the danger, seeing that it was only Shippou.

"Oh, Shippou, it's really nothing. You should get some rest," Sango said, sighing and looking up into the stars.

"Sango?" Shippou said curiously, sitting on the porch and letting his small legs dangle over the edge. "Are you worried that Miroku won't make it to the Afterlife?"

Sango smiled at the thought, even though that wasn't exactly what she was thinking. "No, Shippou-chan. Not at all. He'll get there," she told the small demon reassuringly.

"Okay," Shippou replied, looking over the edge of the porch again. "But then what are you worried about?"

Sango sighed again and looked down at the little kitsune. "I'm sure my worries are smaller than your own, little youkai," she told him, smiling a bit.

"I don't know about that," the demon replied, grinning, and then becoming serious again. "What's worrying you, really?"

Sango glanced at the demon-child. Nothing got past him, did it? Slowly, she sat beside him, and told him what Miroku had said to her, how she blamed herself for his death, and what he had told her in her unconscious state. Shippou listened to all she said with unwavering patience and, by the time she had finished, Sango's tears dotted the wooden plank floor of the porch.

"Don't worry, Sango. It'll be all right," Shippou said, soothingly. Then he yawned. "I'm gonna go to sleep. Oyasumi, Sango." The little demon rose and left Sango to herself.

Sango stared up at the sky, sparkling with stars. Again, a small tear fell from her eye. Then, without a second thought, she drifted off to sleep.

**2.**

_It is the engine that drives itself_

_But it chooses the uphill climb_

_A bearing on magnetic north_

_Growing farther away all the time_

_Can't stop…moving…_

_Can't stop…moving…_

_Can't stop_

_-Rush, "Cut to the Chase", stanza 2_

Sango awoke the next morning, leaning against a support pole for the hut she and the rest of the Inu-ikkou resided in. Rubbing the remnants of sleep from her eyes, she brought back the memories of the night before. Reverently, she laid a hand over Miroku's shards and, as if he had given her some sort of direction, suddenly knew what she had to do. Clamping her hand tightly around the shards, she dashed inside, grabbed her Hiraikotsu, called Kirara, and started her journey to Naraku's castle… and, perhaps, one final battle…

"Kaede! Kaede!" Shippou called, running toward the old woman. "Sango's gone!"

"Gone?" Kaede asked, confused. "What is it ye mean, Shippou?"

"She left! She went somewhere, and left this note!" He waved a piece of paper in front of the woman's face.

Kaede snatched the note out of the small demon's hand and read it.

_Inu-yasha and others,_

_Thank you graciously for your hospitality. I greatly appreciate it. Kagome, do not be angry when you find the rest of your shards missing. I took them with me. I plan to defeat Naraku, and wish Houshi-sama back to life. Thank you, once again._

_With all my heart,_

_Sango_

Kaede's eyes widened as she read the note. She looked at the small demon. "Go get Inu-yasha and the others. We need to follow Sango."

Sango rode through the mountains on Kirara's back, wind whipping her hair around behind her. As she neared Naraku's castle, the familiar demonic aura hit her with fierceness that could not be described with words. Remembering their last encounter with the powerful Hanyou, she placed her mask over her face and secured it behind her neck. Carefully, she guided Kirara to land on a small cliff close to Naraku's barrier.

She slid off the fire-cat's back and pulled out the vial of Kagome's jewel shards, plus the two she had taken from Miroku. "For you, Houshi-sama," she murmured, carefully making two small cuts in her wrists and inserting two jewel shards each, and then placing Housi-sama's in two cuts on her shoulders. Ready to kill Naraku, she ventured bravely down the mountain.

Gensai sat in Naraku's dining room, sipping tea. "So, Naraku," he said, setting his teacup down. "You desire my help in bringing down these two dog demons you claim are, hmm, how did you put it? 'A threat to your existence?' How can a weak dog demon and a few humans stand up to a Hanyou as strong as you, might I ask?"

Naraku grabbed Gensai by the collar of his haori, twisting gently. "Say that word one more time, _half-breed_, and I _swear_, I _will_ kill you." He dropped Gensai to the floor and stood, facing out his window. "I'm not _requesting your help_, I'm _ordering_ you to kill him, for to save your own life, because if you fail, I _personally _will kill you." He looked behind him at the half-demon on the floor who was laughing evilly.

"Ah, to be killed by the great Naraku. What an honor!" He laughed harder. "Is that your pathetic attempt at a threat?"

"No, it was not a threat." Naraku stalked over to the half-demon, picked him off the floor as if he were nothing, and threw him through several sets of walls. Gensai skidded to a stop outside of the castle. "It's a promise."

**3.**

_You may be right_

_It's all a waste of time_

_I guess that's just a chance I'm prepared to take_

_A danger I'm prepared to face_

_Cut to the Chase_

_-Rush, "Cut to the Chase", stanza 3_

Inu-yasha dashed through the forest at early dawn, Kagome holding tightly to his back. "C'mon, Inu-yasha! Can't you go any faster?" Kagome said, Leaning close to his neck.

"No, I can't!" he spat in return. "You're not so light!"

"Don't complain!" Kagome said in return.

Shippou watched the two bickering from above, floating in his puffball form. He focused ahead and a purple-colored dome caught his eye. "I see it! It's right up there," he called down to Inu-yasha and Kagome. "I just hope we get there in time…"

Sango stood at the base of the barrier, waiting for her chance. She gingerly touched her healed wounds, feeling the warmth of the purified jewels. "Please, please work. Otherwise, I don't have a chance in hell of destroying Naraku…" She took a deep breath and, as carefully as was possible, she ventured through the barrier…

Shippou, Inu-yasha, and Kagome met up on the cliff where Kirara was waiting for her mistress. "Great," Inu-yasha said, spitting on the ground. "She's already gone in."

"Damn," Kagome said quietly. "That means we're going to have to go in."

"Yeah? Are you ready to die today?" Inu-yasha asked the girl, clearly fed up.

"Inu-yasha?" Kagome said, semi-calm. "Sit, boy!"

"Ow……" came the strangled voice from a three-foot-deep hole.

"Now, I know your Tetsusaiga was sucked into Miroku's Kanzanna, but we have to help Sango! Otherwise, she's going to die!"

"I hate to say it, Inu-yasha, but Kagome's right. We have to help Sango!" Shippou said, reverting to his small kitsune form.

"Awright, I guess I have no choice. But let's not be too snippy about it later," Inu-yasha said, starting down the path Sango had taken to get to Naraku's castle. Giving the little demon a high-five, Kagome followed after, determined to help her friend.

Sango stepped through the wreckage caused by Naraku throwing Gensai through the walls. She looked around, her hands ready on her weapons. "Where are you, Naraku! Come on out and fight like the coward you are!"

"Hahaha," came the deep laugh, and then…

A bright light seared through her left shoulder, ousting one of Miroku's shards. A man landed before her, with long brown hair and a painted on kabuki mask. "You're…" Sango began, but words failed her as the pain of the hit caught up with her. She fell to her knees.

"Gensai, yes," the man said, bending down to pick up the jewel shard on the ground. He squeezed it in his palm, and it disappeared. "So tell me. Are you Sango, the Taiji-ya that the dead monk so passionately loved?"

"I will tell you nothing, you foul creature," Sango replied spitefully. The man laughed, and the pain in her shoulder came back with a vengeance. She tried to scream, but it came out as a nearly silent squeak. _It's something about his laugh_, she thought to herself,_ that triggers the pain_.

"I can see in your eyes," the man said, lifting her face so he could see into her brown eyes. "You are the girl. You should have been there when I threatened you in front of him. The look of hatred on his face for me…" he giggled a bit, and a dull ache coincided with the giggle in Sango's shoulder. "…it was priceless."

Sango clenched her teeth to avoid screaming as the man laughed. "So now," the man said, standing and walking away. "You're here to try to kill Naraku and get the jewel shards so that you can bring the monk back to life, am I right?"

Seeing her chance as the man's back was to her, Sango stood gingerly, drew her wrist daggers, and swiped at the man. "You forgot one thing, Gensai," she said, skidding to a stop, "I may be human, but five jewel shards will give me the strength of a demon."

"Damn you," Gensai said. "I will leave you to your business with Naraku. But you and I… we will meet again, I promise you." With those words, Gensai disappeared in a whirlwind of dust.

Sango heard footsteps running up behind her. Expecting it to be Gensai, she turned quickly and whipped up her defenses. However, to her greatest relief, it was only Kagome, Inu-yasha, and Shippou. "You… you came," she said, fainting into Kagome's outstretched arms.

"Inu-yasha," Kagome said, "Go get my medicine box from back by Kirara, will you?"

"Sure," Inu-yasha replied, jetting off to get the supplies.

Kagome looked down at the wound in Sango's shoulder. "Please, Sango… please hang in there…"

_**Sango awoke in a garden, lying on a bench. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Looking across the garden, she saw a figure clad in deep purple and ebony robes with black hair tending to the roses. "Houshi-sama?" she said inquisitively, standing and craning her neck, trying to get a better look.**_

_**The figure looked up and she saw her life reflected in those deep purple eyes. She smiled and felt tears of joy and love fill her eyes. "Oh, Houshi-sama! I thought I'd never see you again!"**_

_**The monk smiled in return and stretched out his arms to greet her in a warm hug. "Oh, Sango… Kami knows how long I have waited for this," he told her as she rushed into his waiting arms. "But why are you here?"**_

"_**I don't know, Houshi-sama…I don't care! All that matters at this moment is that I'm with you." She snuggled against his chest, feeling the muscles underneath the robes flex as he released her and held her away from him. **_

"_**Sango, you don't understand! This is the land of the dead!" He said, gripping her shoulders tightly as tears filled his eyes. "That means that you're…" he nearly choked on the words, but recovered. "You're dead, Sango."**_

_**Sango shook her head and backed away from Miroku. "No…" it came out as a small squeak. "No! It's… it's not possible!" Sango backed further away. "I know what you're up to! You're Gensai, playing some trick, trying to stop me from saving Miroku! Well, I'm not falling for it!"**_

"_**Sango, stop that," Miroku took a step toward her. He looked below her feet and saw that they were standing on a cliff. As he reached out to grab her to stop her from falling off, she twisted away and, in the process, lost her balance. Miroku's hand closed on air and he watched, helpless, as his Sango plummeted over the edge.**_

"_**NO! SANGO!" he yelled, and, without thinking, he threw himself off the edge after her.**_

**Author's notes: Hey there again! It's me…… I know I said there would be nine chapters to this part (And there still will be), but it got to long to put on one part of the disk. So I split it up into two parts. Yeah. So anyway…… SKIT TIME!**

Gina: (Completely exasperated) Can't you guys give me one minute ALONE!

Miroku: Not really. After all, you smell sooooo good……… (Caresses her behind)

Gina: (Angry) YOU HENTAI! (Smnacks him a good one) NOW GO AWAY!


	4. Cut to the Chase: Part 2

**Part III: Cut to the Chase (2)**

**4.**

_It is the rocket that ignites itself_

_And launches its way to the stars_

_A driver on a busy freeway_

_Racing the oblivious cars_

_-Rush, "Cut to the Chase", stanza 4_

"Sango! You're all right!" Kagome said, happy as ever. "Thank Kami! The medicine helped."

Sango sat up. "Hoshi-sama…" she looked around frantically. "Where is Houshi-sama!" she asked, staggering to her feet.

"Sango…" Kagome said, reaching out a hand to stay the young girl. "Sango, he died, remember?"

Sango shook her head. "No… I just saw him… I know I did!"

"Sango," Kagome stood and gripped her friend's upper arm. "It was a dream. Please, don't be stupid!"

Sango turned to face Kagome. Her eyes were filled with tears, tears of worry…for her. Sango relaxed. "…"

"Don't you realize what would happen to this group if you weren't around to help us? Sango, please don't fall for Naraku's trap. I… if you died, I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that I let you go into that castle. Sango, you're truly one of my best friends. Please… stay here. Let Inu-yasha handle Naraku."

"All right," Sango said, relaxing and sitting on the ground near her friend. "By the way, Kagome, I'm sorry," she said, leaning against Kagome's shoulder.

"Sorry for what?"

"Taking your shards. Here…" she reopened the wounds in her wrists where she had inserted Kagome's jewel shards. Taking them out carefully, she placed them in her friend's hand.

"It's all right. You needed them."

"Yeah, you're right. I did." With that, Sango drifted off to sleep, exhaustion and blood loss finally catching up with her.

**5.**

_It's the motor of the western world_

_Spinning off to every extreme_

_Pure as a lover's desire_

Evil as a murderer's dream 

_-Rush, "Cut to the Chase", Stanza 5_

"I… I can't breathe…" Miroku clawed at the dirt that covered him. "Perhaps…" he gripped at his wrist. No, no prayer beads. Nothing. "Damn it…" Finally, he felt one of his fingers touch air. Frantically, he dug his way out of the hole that had buried him. As he climbed out and shook the dirt off of his robes, he looked at the ground where he had been buried. There lay, carefully and reverently strewn across the gravesite, his staff, a piece of Sango's Hiraikotsu, and a picture of the group drawn by Shippou. On top of all this, there lay a sealed envelope, addressed to him in silver ink. Carefully, he opened it and read it to himself.

_Houshi-sama,_

_I'm sorry I let you down. I know you will have these items in the afterlife, so I decided to tell you how I really felt in this letter. Miroku, I love you so much, and I'm sorry I could never admit it to you. I always got so jealous when you would ask other women to bear your children, and yet, when you found the courage to ask me, I took it as an insult. I should have told you all this while you were alive; maybe it would have meant something then._

_With my infinite love,_

_Sango, your Taiji-ya_

Miroku bit back a sob. _His_ Taiji-ya. What an acclamation. Holding the note to his heart, he took in a deep breath, hoping to catch a small whiff of her simple fragrance. Looking about him for a sign of where she may be, he noticed he was close to Kaede's hut. "She's got to know where Sango is…" he murmured. Trudging up the hill, he noticed something. His shards… from his shoulder… where were they? Frantically, he dug about where he had been buried, then, he remembered the attacks. The blood. Dear God, had he really been… dead?

After staggering up the steps, he gripped the shoji of the hut and swung it open. "Kaede…" He stumbled and fell onto the floor. "Kaede!"

------------

"Naraku! Where the hell are you! Come on out and fight!" Inu-yasha walked through the castle grounds, calling out challenges to the demon. "Come on! I'm ready!"

"Kukukuku," Naraku's laugh pierced the darkness of the night.

Inu-yasha watched as a figure in a white baboon coat came out of the dusty shadows. "It's you," he said, gritting his teeth.

"You come to me with no weapons and no Kagome. Could it be that you are here to give yourself up?" Naraku asked drawing closer.

"No, I've come to destroy you!" He bared his claws "IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!"

Naraku dodged the claws, and Inu-yasha tumbled onto the ground. "Damn it…" he murmured to himself, "I'm going to need more power…"

-------------------------------------

"I have no idea where they are now, but Sango left this note for the group," Kaede told Miroku, handing him the slightly crumpled letter.

"She's got to be near Naraku's castle," Miroku said calmly, refolding the note gently.

"That is not a bad guess…" Kaede offered.

Miroku turned to the old woman. "Kaede," he asked hesitantly, "Would you accompany in finding them?"

Kaede looked taken aback. "Of course I will, friend," she said.

Miroku looked down at his naked hand, where his windtunnel used to be. He clenched it into a fist. "I will no lose you, my dear Sango. Not this time around."

**6.**

I'm young enough not to care too much 

_About the way things used to be_

_I'm young enough to remember the future_

_The past has no claim on me_

_-Rush, "Cut to the Chase", stanza 6_

Sango awoke in a warm place. Choosing to keep her eyes closed, she savored the feelings of water lapping against her clammy skin. "A hot spring," she murmured to herself. "Thank Kami…" She sank down into the water so low that only the upper half of her face peeked above the water level. "So lovely…"

"Oy," came a deep voice from nearby. Sango opened her eyes and promptly screamed.

"You HENTAI! Miroku, I ought to…" she stopped, holding the rock over her head, looking stupid. "_Miroku!"_ she dropped the rock into the water. "Oh Kami!" She rushed to him, grabbing a hold of him and holding him close. "But you were…"

"Dead, I know. But now, I'm alive, and I'm here," Miroku said, holding her.

Sango stepped back, skeptical. But how do I know that you're not Gensai, playing a trick on me?"

Miroku rubbed his chin, and then stripped his robes off, jumping into the hot spring with her. "Would Gensai do this?" he asked, holding her chin and offering a deep kiss.

Sango pressed herself closer, responding beautifully to his advances. At last the kiss ended, and he held her. "Sango, I missed you so much."

"As did I," she replied. Suddenly she felt a rubbing sensation on her backside. "Kami damn you, Houshi-sama!" she smacked him hard across the face, leaving a reed imprint where her hand had struck. As he stood up, rubbing his sore cheek, he smiled.

"Well, now I know that you're not Gensai, either," he said, laughing.

Sango was speechless for a moment, but then she began laughing as well. "You hentai," she giggled, falling to her knees in the shallow water. "Aishiteru, Miroku," she said, suddenly becoming serious.

"Aishiteru, Sango-sama…" Miroku replied. "Very much." They sat in the hot spring and held each other for a very long time.

---------------------------------------

Gensai watched the couple from a tree above the hot spring. "Do not fear, Naraku. I shall not fail you." An evil laugh echoed across the calm countryside.

**7.**

I'm old enough not to care too much 

_About what you think of me_

_But I'm young enough to remember the future_

_And the way things ought to be_

_-Rush, "Cut to the Chase," stanza 7_

Kagome watched Inu-yasha fight from the ledge where Kirara had stood before they took Sango to the nearby hot springs. Behind her, she heard a clattering of horse hooves on stone. "Kaede!" Kagome whirled around to face the old woman.

"How is he?" Kaede asked, dismounting.

"Surviving… barely," Kagome answered, watching the two as they fought it out to the death below.

"Indeed," Kaede said. "Without the Tetsusaiga, there is not much he can do to kill Naraku. He may very well die in this battle."

Kagome looked at the shrunken lady. "Do… do you really think that he will die, Kaede?" she asked.

Kaede looked up at the young girl. "Yes, Kagome." She looked back out over Naraku's castle. "It is very possible."

Kagome's knees buckled, and she slid down to the rock, hiding her face in her hands. _Oh my god…_ she thought to herself. _What have I done?_

---------------------------------------------

Naraku dodged every move that Inu-yasha gave him. "Kukukuku…" Naraku laughed. "You'll never do it! Just admit it. Without your precious Tetsusaiga, you can't beat me!"

"Dammit, he's running down my strength so he can get an attack in… I'm getting more and more tired." Suddenly he got a plan. He fell to his knees. "Naraku, I admit it," he spat. "You've defeated me."

Naraku laughed as he came close to the Hanyou. He raised a clawed hand. "Die, Inu-yasha…" he laughed bringing his hand down over Inu-yasha.

Inu-yasha smiled. "No, _you_ die. IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!" he slashed at the demon, whose eyes opened wide with surprise.

"No…" Naraku fell down, defeated.

**Authors note: Yay! Naraku's dead, Sango and Miroku got together and kissed, Kagome and Inu-yasha are going to fall in love…is this the happy ending we've all been waiting for? NO! I have too many more chapters to write, plus Gensai's still alive, and I know there will be downfalls for the Inu-ikkou to endure yet… Enjoy!**

Gina: (Happily sipping coffee as she types away) Yes, alone at last…. (hums a happy song. Suddenly, an "achoo" and a crash. She goes to the door and Opens it, Glaring ominously at the muddled mess of hands, feet, and faces before her.) Explain.

The group: (A long and muddled argument about who wanted who to listen in and who was forced to do so)

Gina: (Flames around her) OUT! (The house shakes.) NOW!


End file.
